EMPEROR frontman Ihsahn performed the band's song "I Am The Black Wizards" during his May 7 solo concert in Melbourne, Australia. Video of the performance, courtesy of AndrewHaug.com, can be seen below. Asked in a recent interview with Antichrist Magazine about his status as an "icon" of black metal, Ihsahn said: "I don't know about that. I was just doing an interview previously about the song 'I Am The Black Wizards' because that's also a song that's stuck with us that a lot of people seem to have a relationship to, that they recognize well. We wrote that song when I was 16. I was 17 by the time we recorded 'In The Nightside Eclipse'. It's strange, but kind of a very nice experience having been part of music that, of course, in Poland, we played 'I Am The Black Wizards', it's one of the songs that we always play and you see grown men cry because they get very emotional. It's in a similar way that some of my favorite music I grew up listening to or going to an IRON MAIDEN show and hearing some of my favorites from back in the day, it has a huge emotional impact on me. "You mentioned an 'icon' of black metal. I differentiate it very much about the music, and once it's released, it lives a life on its own," he continued. "But it has nothing to do with me as a person. It can sometimes be very strange to be in the capacity when we're playing and doing autographs and signing sessions and selfies and being a representative of very much that emotional focus, that I think it's important for me dealing with that, that is more respecting the fact that people have a strong relationship to music that I happen to be a part of, rather than thinking it has anything to do with me as a person." Ihsahn's seventh solo album, "Ámr", was released on May 4 via Candlelight/Spinefarm.
Continue reading...
Continue reading...
